Poll

Opinion

Change has been the norm when it comes to Henry County EMS. Over the last 10 years, we have seen the service evolve from a part-time, paid day service to a 24/7 paid service with paramedics. Not so long ago there were dozens of volunteer EMT’s with ambulances stationed in the county’s four biggest towns. Today there are less than a handful of volunteers and they assist the county with runs. These folks make a modest per diem and are an important part of our service.

George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” With that in mind, let’s compare the outcry against Obamacare against the opposition to earlier progressive movements. The Affordable Care Act is a big deal; there’s a lot of information out there. But who’s telling the truth? A bit of historical perspective might help.

This past spring, while on vacation in our Nation’s Capital, my wife and I stopped at Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office. In the corner was the 6-foot-tall stack of paper tied up in a red bow that is the Affordable Care Act. How could anyone have read the entire bill? The Speaker of the House at the time the bill was passed, Nancy Pelosi, said “we have to vote on it before we know what’s in it.” Three years later, we are still finding out what is in it.

This week I will highlight Henry County’s roads and a few of the projects that are in the works.

With well over 200 miles of roads in the county system, there is always work to be done.

This year’s budget allowed for resurfacing on 17 different roads for a total of 4,150 tons of blacktop laid at a cost of around $275,000. These funds come from taxes on gasoline that we all pay at the pump. The state collects these dollars and remits them based on a formula to each county.

Over the course of the next several weeks I will discuss some of the current happenings in county government. I plan to highlight various Fiscal Court responsibilities including: roads, EMS, parks, animal services, solid waste, economic development and the county budget. We will start this first week with an update on the parks and animal services programs.

I’m sure it’s not news to you that Obamacare (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) kicks in soon.

Many people have questions about the new law but, sadly, the misinformation machine never sleeps. These scare tactics make it hard for folks to get accurate information, particularly when we see rallies of hoodwinked people toting placards that say ”Get your government hands off my Medicare!” on our television news. But let’s go behind the curtains and confront some of these myths.

If there is anything we are learning as we study the last few years, it is not that the Republican Party needs to change or adapt to a changing world, no, it is that we need to do a better job of getting our message out. Henry County is a prime example of that.

As I talked to Henry Countians at festivals and fairs this summer, we are not that far apart in our political ideology. Henry Countians are conservative.

Joe Yates is my attorney and friend. Sometimes friends don’t agree on things. Joe and I are like oil and water when it comes to our political views.

I have been reading Joe’s columns since they began appearing in the Henry County Local. During that time I have found myself disagreeing with him more than not. After last week’s column I decided to write a rebuttal.

The United States was preparing for war in the Middle East; at the time, Operation Desert Shield was underway. A few months later, Operation Desert Storm launched. At the same time, a journalist was born.

It took us almost 20 years to find the Unabomber. FBI agent Mark Felt denied for 30 years that he was ‘Deep Throat,’ the source for Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s undercover investigation of Nixon and company, until he ‘fessed up in 2005. But today I am proud to announce that, after more than 35 years, we have found Ronald Reagan’s elusive ‘welfare queen.’

With Labor Day behind us and a “biting cold and snowy” winter to come – if the Farmers’ Almanac prediction proves correct – the clock is ticking for those of us who would like to see some of what Kentucky has to offer during the fall.

President Obama made a wise political move to include the vote of Congress on what action the United States will take against the Assad regime for allegedly using chemical weapons on women and children in Syria.

Friday, Sept. 13, will be an historic day in Henry County. That evening, both of Kentucky’s United States Senators — Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul — along with 4th District United States Congressman Thomas Massie, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer, State Senators Ernie Harris and Paul Hornback, State Representative David Osborne and other area Republican leaders will all come out to Pendleton for a multi-county Grand Ol’ Party Rally.

The General Assembly returned to re-draw the geographic lines that govern the 100-member House and the 38-member Senate.
It’s something we and every other state are called upon to do each decade, to reflect the differences in population found by the Census.

Hello. I’m Paul Hornback, and I am honored to be your new state Senator, representing Carroll, Henry, Shelby and Trimble Counties, as well as part of Jefferson.
You may be wondering how this has happened, especially since my friend, Senator Ernie Harris, has served you well, so let me explain. After each U.S. Census, it is the Constitutional duty of the state legislature to realign voting districts according to population shifts. This week, we did just that as the Senate and the House passed legislation that drew new district lines.

Monday, the General Assembly began a special session called by Governor Beshear, to finish what should have been done a year ago. Redistricting. The Governor hopes the special session, which will cost over $60,000 a day, will only last five days, to “minimize the cost to taxpayers.”

By law, the Commonwealth must reassess census data, and move House, Senate and Judicial districts as the population moves, so that districts have about the same population, across the state, to assure balanced representation.

In today’s data-driven age, there is no shortage of comparative lists that states can use to check the progress they’re making. The rankings may not shed much light individually, but when enough are brought together, a much clearer picture begins to emerge.
With that in mind, Kentucky and 14 of her fellow southern states got a chance earlier this summer to see how each stacks up in some especially crucial areas.